Racing the Sun
by BlackbirdSky
Summary: We all have a destiny. We are born, we live, and then we die. What we do before that is what makes us who we are. Sunpaw is an apprentice from SeaClan. Follow his journey through life.
1. Chapter 1: The Introductions

Racing the Sun

FireClan, MudClan, CloudClan, SeaClan are my Clans. My main character is Sunpaw of SeaClan, marked with a *. To start off, I'll write the long, long line of characters (which took a lot of time and effort, mind you, any names you see that you've seen before a coincidental, and if you want to use some of my names, or the actual character, in your fanfic, I'd appreciate it if you cite me/message me. Thanks!) And then I'll talk some more. Because you want to hear me drone on, right? See you at the end!

SEACLAN

Leader: Russetstar- A reddish-brown she-cat with green eyes.

Deputy: Treecloud- A large brown tabby tom with yellow eyes.

Medicine Cat: Snowflight- White and silver striped tom with dark blue eyes.

Apprentice: Mothpaw- Dusky-gray she-cat with vivid blue eyes.

Warriors:

Moonpelt- Silver striped tom, amber eyes.

**Apprentice, Leafpaw**

Snakefang- Golden tabby tom with yellow eyes.

Lostroot- Dark gray tom with dark yellow eyes, missing an ear.

**Apprentice, Rosepaw**

Birchstripe- Brown-and-white long haired tom with blue eyes.

Cinderfrost- Mottled brown/orange she cat with amber eyes.

Owlfeather- Gray and black tom with amber eyes, short tailed.

**Apprentice, Sunpaw* **(He's approx. 8 moons at the start of the story)

Spidernose- White tom, dark amber-yellow eyes, dark greyish nose.

**Apprentice, Robinpaw**

Fernheart- Bright orange she-cat with darker stripes and amber eyes.

Hareflight- Lanky medium brown colored tom with golden-yellow eyes

Dewtail- Beige she-cat with a long mottled tail and green eyes.

Willowfall- Cream and light brown mottled she-cat with dark brown paws; blue eyes.

**Apprentice, Honeypaw**

Crowclaw- Black tom, one blue and one amber eye.

Blackriver- Black and silver she-cat with blue eyes.

Queens:

Echodream- White with silver spots, green eyes, she-cat. Her mate is Spidernose.

Snowwing- White she-cat with silver stripes and green eyes. Her mate is Treecloud.

Elders:

Mouseclaw- Brown and black tabby tom, yellow eyes; blind in one eye

Riverstone- Grey and dark grey she-cat with blue eyes.

Apprentices:

Rosepaw- Pale brownish and beige she-cat with amber eyes.

Robinpaw- Russet tom with brown tail tip; amber eyes.

*Sunpaw- Golden-orangeish tom with yellow eyes.

Leafpaw- Whitish-beige she-cat with green eyes.

Honeypaw- Beige she-cat with brown spots and yellow eyes, siblings with Leafpaw and Robinpaw.

MUDCLAN

Leader: Oakstar- Long-haired dark brown tom with dark brown eyes.

Deputy: Feathertail- Gray she-cat with green eyes.

**Apprentice, Tawnypaw **

Medicine cat: Shadowpelt- Black she-cat with yellow eyes.

Apprentice: Halfstone- White tom with dark grey stripes and blue eyes.

Warriors:

Frostwind- White tom with blue eyes.

Shrewpelt- Tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes.

Shrubclaw- Brown and pale orange tabby tom with green eyes.

**Apprentice, Falconpaw**

Brambletail- Black and brown tom with yellow eyes.

Leopardfang- Golden long-haired she-cat with dark brown stripes and blue eyes.

Sundrop- Vivid orange she-cat with green eyes.

**Apprentice, Whitepaw**

Larkclaw- Grey and silver tom with amber eyes.

Stonedust- Large dark grey tom with blue eyes.

Littlerain- Small blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes.

Raggedwind- Long-haired brown tabby tom with yellow eyes.

**Apprentice, Poppypaw**

Barkshadow- Light and dark brown tom with amber eyes, one ear.

**Apprentice, Snakepaw**

Pepperstep- Beige and golden she-cat with amber eyes.

Willowmist- Light brown she-cat with green eyes.

Queens:

Honeystripe- Golden-brown she-cat with yellow eyes, her mate is Barkshadow.

Kits: Sorrelkit, Ashkit, Hazelkit.

Reedtail- Golden she-cat with green eyes, her mate is Oakstar.

Elders:

Falconleaf- Dark orange tabby tom with green eyes.

Snowfeather- White she-cat with grey flecks, amber eyes.

Apprentices:

Snakepaw- Dark grey she-cat with yellow eyes.

Whitepaw- White tom with amber eyes.

Eaglepaw- Golden-brown tom with amber eyes.

Tawnypaw- Tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes.

Poppypaw- Light brown she-cat with darker brown stripes, green eyes.

CLOUDCLAN

Leader: Morningstar- Pale, almost whiteish-gold she-cat with blue eyes.

Deputy: Foxshadow- Russet tom with darker stripes and yellow eyes.

Medicine cat: Pebblepelt- Mottled tabby tom with green eyes.

Apprentice: None.

Warriors:

Brindletail- Black tom with yellow eyes.

Cherry- Formerly of Twoleg possession, a dark brown she-cat with dark russet tone, and blue eyes.

Snowstone- Silver she-cat with blue eyes.

**Apprentice, Seapaw**

Brokencloud- Dark grey tom with amber eyes.

Elmpelt- Brown and grey tom with yellow eyes.

Iceshadow- Dark grey she-cat with blue eyes.

Longspots- Light grey she-cat with darker spots, green eyes.

**Apprentice, Duskpaw**

Moonleaf- Black and white tom with green eyes.

Waterwing- Blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes.

**Apprentice, Harepaw**

Darkflower- Dark grey she-cat with amber eyes.

Sandwing- Dark gold she-cat with yellow eyes.

Quailfeather- Light and dark brown tom with black stripes and green eyes.

**Apprentice, Hollowpaw**

Rose- Also formerly of Twoleg possession, a shade lighter than Cherry, green eyes.

Queen:

Hawkpelt: Tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes. Her mate is Quailfeather.

Elders:

Cedarfall- (Early retirement) Reddish-brown tom with a badly healed leg. Amber eyes.

Coalfang- Gray tom with blue eyes.

Apprentices:

Duskpaw- Dark gray tom with amber eyes.

Hollowpaw- Black and orange she-cat with green eyes.

Harepaw- Brown she-cat with yellow eyes.

Seapaw- Light gray she-cat with blue eyes.

FIRECLAN

Leader: Birdstar- Small tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes.

Deputy: Windpelt- Silver tom with a darker gray tail and amber eyes.

Medicine Cat: Emberdawn- Light russet she-cat with one blue eye.

Apprentice: None

Warriors:

Meadowfrost- Light gold she cat with blue eyes.

Heatherfur- Pale ginger and light brown she-cat with yellow eyes.

**Apprentice, Emberpaw**

Lizardeye- Pale orange tom with yellow eyes.

Hazeldust- Gray she-cat with mottled brown spots and blue eyes.

**Apprentice, Rainpaw**

Ivystone- Dark gray she-cat with green eyes, siblings with Hazeldust and Whisperstep.

Thrushclaw- Brown and gold tom with yellow eyes.

Tallcloud- Dark gray tom with black stripes and blue eyes.

Honeyfoot- Golden she-cat with amber eyes.

Whisperstep- Golden tom with green eyes.

**Apprentice, Brightpaw**

Amberfeather- Long-haired red-brown she-cat with yellow eyes.

Mintpetal- Light brown she-cat with dark spots and green eyes.

**Apprentice, Sandpaw**

Swiftgaze- Orange tom with amber eyes.

Stoneriver- Gray tom with blue eyes.

Queens:

Dusklight- Black she-cat with a calico spot on her head and yellow eyes.

Ebonysong- Black she-cat with ginger socks/ears and blue eyes.

Elders:

Goldenmoon- Light beige she-cat. Blind.

Smokestripe- Light gray tom with a dark brown stripe that runs from neck to tail, yellow eyes.

Apprentices:

Sandpaw- Light orange she-cat with blue eyes.

Emberpaw- Orange tom with green eyes.

Rainpaw- Dark gray tabby tom with green eyes.

Brightpaw- Russet tom with yellow eyes.

00000

Woo. Okay, now that's that's done with, I'm going to talk about the Clans. You can skip this part, because I have no guarantee it'll be interesting, but would be nice to get the backstory.

So, I will be focusing on SeaClan the most of all, but I may offer brief glimpses into the other Clans, depending on how I plan my storyline. You may or may not have noticed, but the cats of the different Clans tend to have specific colorings, like SeaClan tends to have more pastel-colored cats, while FireClan has more vivid cats in general, plenty of orange or russet colored cats.

The Clans are centered around a mountain.

CloudClan lives up higher than the other clans, but lower than the Tribe in the original books. They eat birds and squirrels mainly, and mice.

MudClan lives near the bottom, they get frequent rain and live partially in the swamps. MudClan diet is made up of frogs, small reptiles, birds, and occasionally snakes.

SeaClan lives on the other side of MudClan, nestled between a steep cliff and the beach. They catch saltwater and freshwater fish (the freshwater stream starts in the mountain). They also eat voles and birds.

FireClan lives between Mud- and SeaClan. Due to the rain shadow effect, they don't get rain often. As a result, in the summer, fires occur. They hunt rabbit, birds, and squirrels.

Remember the Moonstone? Each Clan has one sacred spot. For CloudClan, it's a cherry tree grove with bioluminescent fungi. They dream at the end of the grove, near a big petrified tree. For MudClan, it's a ancient willow tree that almost bends over into an upside-down 'U'. They dream in a hole in the trunk. For SeaClan, it's a cave with a crystal clear pool that starts shallow and becomes deep. There's an island in the middle to dream. Finally, FireClan's Moonstone equivalent is an abandoned church. They dream at the ledge of a very large stained-glass mural-window thing.

This series will differ a bit from the main Warriors series in a few ways. First of all, I tend to use more human expressions when describing the cat's actions and behaviors, but nothing outlandish or impossible. Secondly, the Clans are a bit more friendly to each other. SeaClan and FireClan are best buds, and MudClan and CloudClan also adore each other.


	2. Chapter 2: Enter the Clan

Chapter 1: Enter the Clan

_ Sunpaw opened _his eyes lazily. The sun was already up and crawling across the sky. Stretching and quickly washing his pelt, he flicked his tail across the russet tom who was still sleeping.

"Hmmm…? Is it already time to get up?" He let out a yawn.

"Yup. Did you know you snore like Mouseclaw?"

"You tell me every day-." Robinpaw complained

"I mean, it's uncanny. I've been having dreams about him because of this." The orange tom purred as he padded out the apprentice den into the sunlight.

The hard gray stone under his feet slowly turned to gravel as he approached the left side of camp. The SeaClan camp was a circle of dens centered around the Highrock. Under the Highrock was the medicine den. Russetstar's den was located under a rocky outcropping near the warrior den. The apprentice den was to the left. On the left side of camp was the nursery, nestled under a wall of brambles and lichen. The elder's den had a similar build.

Sunpaw sat next to Rosepaw, a fellow apprentice.

"Mornin', Sunpaw!" She chirped after swallowing a bite of bass. "Care for a bite? This one's too big."

As Sunpaw ate, he listened to Rosepaw describe hunting techniques and how she had caught a sea perch "_this big!_" as she stretched out her tail and how she would have shown him if the elders hadn't already taken it.

"Rosepaw!" A shadowy shape emerged from the medicine den. It was Lostroot, a senior warrior, who recently lost a ear in a dog chase. It was strange how Russetstar matched Lostroot with Rosepaw, the serious, occasionally scary warrior, with the dainty beauty with the cheerful can-do attitude. However, they got along perfectly. Rosepaw was extremely fond of her mentor, and he was the same.

The beige and brown she-cat flicked an ear at the golden tom in goodbye. "See you later, Sunpaw! You should go find Owlfeather, I think he wants to go on hunting patrol with you today."

Owlfeather was the gentle giant with a passion for justice and the warrior code. He had a bit of a short tail, which somehow didn't hinder him from losing his balance.

As Sunpaw searched the camp for Owlfeather, he heard his voice from the warrior's den. Pushing aside the hanging branches that obscured the entrance, he peered in, adjusting his eyes to the dark hollow. He wasn't sure whether or not to venture in, as apprentices were not usually allowed in the warrior's den. Owlfeather turned around and saw Sunpaw. "There you are. I asked for hunting patrol today, but I'm sure Rosepaw already told you that. We've got the sunhigh patrol, so you're free to go…" he paused awkwardly, peering off into some unseen distance. "Go get Ropinpaw and meet me next to the medicine den. We're going with Cinderfrost and Spidernose." Owlfeather then fell silent and stared at the younger tom. "Are you...leaving?" He uncertainly asked the smaller cat.

"Oh, yes. Sorry. Bye, Owlfeather! See you." Sunpaw scampered out of the warriors den. It wasn't that Sunpaw was scared of Owlfeather, but talking to Owlfeather was a bit of a challenge, and often enough Sunpaw found himself more confused than before. Although a bit absent minded, Owlfeather was a great mentor, and no one could doubt that.

Sunpaw headed to the Elder's den, where Robinpaw seemed to be attacking ticks with a repulsive wad of bile-soaked moss. He stood in the entryway for a couple heartbeats before Robinpaw took notice.

"Have you come to help me?" Robinpaw asked quickly, a look of desperation barely masked.

"Even better. We have to go on patrol." Sunpaw replied.

Riverstone hissed at them, blue eyes flashing. "Kits these days, no respect, no respect I tell you. Ain't that so, Mouseclaw?"

Mouseclaw yawned, flicking his tail. Riverstone murmured under her breath, "Good for nothing old fox. Wake up, you bag of bones, you're not dead yet."

Sunpaw and Robinpaw stood sheepishly at the doorway. "Sorry, Riverstone, we'll make it up to you later." Robinpaw mewled.

"That's a given. I'll be expecting a high ratio of feathers-to-moss and a juicy vole, at the minimum." Riverstone closed her eyes and lifted her head snobbishly.

Back in the day, Riverstone was quite the catch, and a charismatic, cunning one at that. Dark blue eyes, a sleek gray and black-mottled pelt, and a master hunter, she had everything going for her. However, she only ever had one mate, the old deputy Thornclaw, who died before Russetstar was even born. Nowadays, though, she apparently had a blooming relationship with old Mouseclaw, something that everyone, barring other jealous elders, preferred not to acknowledge.

Streaking to the rocky clearing, Sunpaw searched for Owlfeather. It was teetering close to sunhigh, Owlfeather was no where in sight.

"Uh, Sunpaw? We _do_ have the sunhigh patrol, right?" Robinpaw asked uncertainly.

"Of course. Do you think I dragged you from your _incredibly _important duties to wait in the clearing till dusk?" Sunpaw replied teasingly.

"Don't remind me. I can still taste the bile in my mouth. Can't wait to get rid of it."

Suddenly, Owlfeather's voice materialized behind them. "Sunpaw! There you are. I was looking all over for you!" He boomed.

"You told me to meet you in the clearing…" Sunpaw trailed off uncertainly.

"Did I? Okay then, is everyone ready?" Without waiting for an answer, he pelted off at a break-neck speed towards the beach. Sunpaw glanced at Robinpaw before also running. Behind them, Sunpaw could hear Cinderfrost's and Spidernose's heavy padfalls as they raced across terrain that gradually shifted from rocky to sparsely grassy and sandy.

Finally catching up to Owlfeather, Sunpaw relished the cool wind that stroked his fur as he panted, trying to catch his breath. After all, the beach was quite a ways from camp, and the sand swallowed his legs as he ran, creating resistance. As a result, the members of SeaClan usually were superb long-distance runners, along with MudClan, where the swampy mud also seemed to dragged them down.

Sunpaw could only see a fraction of Owlfeather, as his tail twitched back and forth, disrupting the sand. His hackles were raised yet his body was close to the ground, and his pelt was rippling as much as the sand beneath his tail. Sunpaw could tell that something was wrong, and Spidernose flicked his ears, crouched, and began stealthy progress towards Owlfeather, Cinderfrost trailing at his heels. Sunpaw and Robinpaw stayed where they were, out of sight from whatever had his mentor so aggravated.

"What do you think it is?" Robinpaw whispered so quietly Sunpaw wasn't sure if he had actually heard him correctly.

"...Trouble." Sunpaw replied after a pause. "Do you think we should follow? What if they're in trouble and we need to get help?"

"No, we shouldn't follow." Robinpaw said, although he was already in a crouch, moving as swiftly and as quietly as a mouse towards the warriors.

Sunpaw followed, trying to keep from stepping on weathered, fragile driftwood and bark. The dangerous predator came into view.

A queen, heavy with unborn kits. Her wide yellow eyes seemed too bright under the harsh sun, black pelt was torn and matted in some places, a particularly heavy cut across her spine.

Owlfeather was still in the unsure ready-to-attack pose, while Cinderfrost and Spidernose took on a less threatening pose and sat.

"Why not?" Cinderfrost yowled, looking at Owlfeather with a defiant air.

"_Because_, there's nothing in the Warrior Code about this. How do we know what to do?" Owlfeather yowled back.

Spidernose stepped in. "Why don't we just let Russetstar decide? Come on, she's a queen! What harm could she do?"

"That's the issue! How do we know where she came from? She could be forwarding information about the camp to a pack of rouges, for all we know!" Owlfeather hissed.

"Owlfeather, calm down. She's obviously terrified and injured." Spidernose reasoned. "I'm taking her back to the camp. She's probably overheated in this sun, too, with no water to drink."

Cinderfrost leaned close to the she-cat, and purred, "Come on, let's go. We have a wonderful medicine cat, she'll take care of you. My, you're barely warrior-age! This must be your first litter."

The black queen reluctantly got up, bowing her head. The senior warriors finally noticed Sunpaw and Robinpaw, and Spidernose glared at them. "You're supposed to stay behind. What if it was dangerous?"

Cinderfrost sighed, and said, "Give them a break, Spidernose, they're just curious apprentices. Anyway, I have to get her back to camp."

Spidernose agreed, and offered to go with Cinderfrost, just in case.

"Well, we have to bring something back for the Clan." He nodded to Robinpaw and Sunpaw as the giant gray and black tom waded into the surf. Sunpaw followed with Robinpaw, and paused when he could barely feel his paws on the shifting sand. During sunhigh, the tides were high, so they expected to catch much less fish than low tide, when they could go further out.

The line of cats was a peculiar sight. They stood a few tail-lengths from each other, as still as a rock, waiting for their chance. The sun felt hot on Sunpaw's back, and he resisted the urge to flounder in the cold water. In the corner of his eye, he saw Robinpaw dive, hopefully hooking a fish with his jaws. He came back up, a small, gleaming silver fish flailing for it's life. Per the Code, Robinpaw silently thanked the fish for it's life, and put the fish on the sand. Until the sun had shifted between Sunhigh and Sundown, they would be doing this. Waiting and catching. Although he tried not to, Sunpaw felt his mind shift, let his guard down. He thought of the mysterious black queen, and where she had came from. SeaClan and FireClan had only a few black cats between them. Could she be from MudClan or CloudClan? Or was she a rouge? He had heard nursery tales about rouge cats, that they were dangerous and ate their own kits. Rouges had invaded SeaClan years ago. They sent a few cats into the camp, gained trust, and then they attacked. SeaClan, with the help of FireClan, drove them out, but the causalities were heavy, and for the next few seasons, SeaClan barely hung onto survival.

He realized that a rather large fish was literally right beneath his jaws, and he moved a fraction too late. It was hard to catch fish, he thought, as his mouth was filled with salty water. The sun played tricks on you, made you think the fish was somewhere it wasn't. You never knew if you would catch it until your jaws closed. It was much easier to catch voles. If they only had more voles. He reassured himself that even the best hunters around missed occasionally as he tried not to notice Robinpaw's sympathetic gaze.

Eventually, it was time to leave. He had caught two other fish, but they were nowhere near the behemoth that got away. Robinpaw had caught two, and Owlfeather had caught a seabird that had got too close to the pile of wet fish. The bird would last longer than the fish, as they spoiled quickly in the heat. The other Clans joked that SeaClan was always hunting, no matter what. Which was true. Even their border patrols were really border and hunting patrols, during Newleaf and Greenleaf.

Back at the camp, he put the fish in the Hole, a cool, rocky hollow where the prey was stored. Pausing, he grabbed one of the fish he caught and brought it to Riverstone.

"No voles today, Riverstone, but I brought you some fish!" He meowed cheerfully as he could.

"What?" The grey elder stretched and peered curiously at his offering. "Oh, fine, stick it there."

As he left the den, he heard, rather than saw, Mouseclaw being prodded awake by the grumpy she-cat.

Across the elder's den, he saw the Medicine Cat, Snowflight, disappear into the nursery. Instantly, his mind went to the mysterious queen. Curious, he also padded over to the nursery, somewhere he hadn't even set foot into since he and his mother, Fernheart, left it two moons ago. He hadn't known who his father was, Fernheart never told anyone. There wasn't any clues, either, as Sunpaw inherited most of his traits from her.

At the nursery, Snowflight seemed to be checking up on the black cat, prodding her giant belly with his paws.

"All seems to be just fine. Your kits will probably arrive in a few nightfalls. Have you even spoken a word since you got here? What's your name?"

The queen opened her mouth for a second, then closed it. She noticed Sunpaw near the entryway as Snowflight asked her to open her mouth.

"I can't see anything the matter, dear, you should be able to speak. Is your throat sore?"

The queen shook her head.

"Have you ever been able to speak?" Sunpaw pried.

The she-cat signaled no.

"Well then, do you have a name?"

She shook her head once again.

"Then we'll have to give you one, won't we?" The old Medicine Cat purred. Snowflight turned around and saw Sunpaw. "Do you need something, Sunpaw?" He asked, twitching his tail.

Sunpaw shifted from paw to paw awkwardly. He hadn't really known what he was going to do once he got to the nursery. "Just seeing if somebody needed something, is all." The queen eyed him curiously with her topaz eyes.

"Okay. Can you go get Russetstar and tell her I need to talk to her?"

Sunpaw nodded, and scampered away, padding lightly on the smooth pebbles that made up much of the camp. His mother told him when he was a kit that long before SeaClan made this their home, the camp used to be a river, which lead down into the sea. It was hard to imagine the camp underwater, with fish swimming everywhere.

Before he knew it he was at the small cave that jutted out beside the warrior den. This was Russetstar's den, and she didn't let anyone in. She did her own cleaning and whatever else leaders did in their dens.

"Russetstar? Sorry to bother you, but Snowflight needs to talk to you." Sunpaw called into the dark.

From somewhere inside, he heard a little grunt of acknowledgment, and the sound of paws on stone coming closer. Russetstar emerged, some moss sticking out of her fur.

"Oh hi Sunpaw, I wasn't sleeping. I just had a long night yesterday and I figured I'd close my eyes for a bit. Don't worry. Why are you here?"

Russetstar was a bit eccentric, and most everyone knew it. She always stayed up late into the night, conversing with Snowflight or simply thinking, and slept in habitually. She wasn't perfect, but she was a superb leader, one who was praised for her quick thinking and strategy.

"Snowflight wants to talk to you about a mute queen we found."

"You..._found_ a queen? Just hanging around the territory?"

"Well, Owlfeather did, but I was there. She looks like she doesn't belong to any Clan."

"And she doesn't speak?"

"Yes."

"Oh dear." With a flick of the ears Russetstar moved across the camp swiftly, occasionally with a small sliver of moss falling from her pelt.

It was approaching Sunfall now. Brilliant sunlight streaked the camp, washing the monotonous gray and brown into a waterfall of color. As Sunpaw stared into the falling sun, he wondered what would happen to the black queen.

00000

Woo. Okay, first chapter done.

I know I'm going to get some comment on this, and I know cat's can't actually "see" the color red the same way we do, but I'm a very visual person, and I like adding scenes with a lot of imagery. I know it's not completely accurate, but maybe you can just ignore it to make me feel better? Thanks :).


End file.
